My students & word detectives

It's only been 7 school days but I'm already exhausted and overwhelmed!  My students are quite needy this year.  I have one group in particular that is really troubling me.  There are only 4 students in the group so far.  Student A had a lot of regression over the summer and is now at the same reading level as last September.  Student B is working two grade levels below in all areas.  Student C is already talking back and being sarcastic.  Student D has been fine so far however knowing the student from the last few years, I'm sure this won't last long!

Rather than working on comprehension this year, I will be focusing on decoding and word work.  Last year, I found a book called Spelling Smart.  I used it for my 4th graders who really struggled with spelling and it worked wonderfully.  Each week students are given a list of about 100 words that follow a spelling/phonics rule.  There are lessons for each rule and materials for students to do each day.  The words are a little difficult for my current students but I am going to use the rules (and some words) with the word detectives materials that I found on Ladybug Teacher Files.  

Each week we are going to do an abbreviated version of the lesson.  Students will spend the rest of the week looking for words that follow that phonics pattern and recording them in their books.  I'll update you on how it goes as it progresses.  

-Becky